Vaccines and Abortion

Which vaccines are derived from aborted fetal tissue?

Fourteen (14) current vaccines use human cells derived from aborted fetal tissue.  Chickenpox and Rubella vaccines do not have abortion-free alternatives in the United States.  The Rubella vaccine is compulsory under WV law.  In order to act according to our conscience, West Virginians must have vaccination exemption because of religious and moral beliefs.

Why would legislators say abortions are not involved anymore?

The human cell lines derived from two abortions 30 years ago are still being used in the production of vaccines.  Some people are confused because there are no new abortions involved in the production of these vaccines.  But that does not change the fact that we are still using human cell lines derived from aborted fetal tissue in the production of our vaccines.  West Virginians who object to abortion for religious or moral reasons have a right to refuse to inject abortion-related ingredients into their children.

Do you have proof that abortions are still involved in the current production of vaccines?

Varivax Product Insert from Merck (Chickenpox vaccine):

"The virus was initially obtained from a child with natural varicella, then intorduced into human embryonic lung cell cultures, adapted to and propagated in embryonic guinea pig cell cultures and finally propagated in human diploid cell cultures (WI-38).  Further passage of the virus for varicella vaccine was performed at Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) in human diploid cell cultures (MRC-5) that were free of adventitious agents."

Meruvax II Product Insert from Merck (Rubella vaccine.  The MMR contains Meruvax.)

"The virus was adapted to and propagated in WI-38 human diploid lung fibroblasts."

Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

"CDC is aware that some, but not all, vaccines are made from human cell-line cultures, and some of these cell lines originated from aborted fetal tissue, obtained from legal abortions in the 1960's.  No new fetal tissue is needed to produce cell lines to make these vaccines, now or in the future.  Fetal tissue is not used to produce vaccines; cell lines generated from a single fetal tissue source are used--vaccine manufacturers obtain human cell lines from FDA-certified cell banks.

What does MRC-5 and WI-38 mean?

The two cell lines used by Chickenpox and Rubella are the following:

MRC-5 (Medical Research Council 5): MRC5 originates from the lung tissue taken from a 14 week male fetus aborted for "psychiatric reasons" from a 27 year old woman in the UK in the 1970s.

WI-38: WI-38 originates from a female fetus aborted in Sweden in the 1960's. This fetus was reported to be chosen specifically for the purpose of vaccine production.

Children of God for Life has a detailed history of these cell lines along with references.

Why are human cell lines used in vaccines?

Vaccines use weakened or killed viruses to stimulate our immune systems to fight against them.  To get these viruses, they have to be grown.  Viruses can only be grown in a culture of living cells.  Sometimes these viruses are grown in animal cells, such as chicken embryos or monkey kidney cells.  However, these viruses can pick up contaminants, DNA, and other animal contents which could cause allergic reactions or unintended diseases.  So vaccine manufacturers prefer to grow viruses in human cells.  Stem cells can be reproduced indefinitely once they are obtained from fetal tissue.  Because these fetal cells divide very quickly, they are make an excellent culture in which to grow viruses.

However, there are concerns with using human cells as well.  Contaminants and genetic material of the human fetus can also be passed into the child being vaccinated.¹ 

Read more:  Separating Facts from Fiction on the Chicken Pox Vaccine by Jameson Taylor